


Lion’s Den

by Bitterlikesweets



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Eren has a blog, Eren’s on Tumblr, F/M, Fanboy Eren Yeager, Jean Armin and Marco in love triangle, Lions everywhere, M/M, Past Mikasa/Eren - Freeform, Slow Burnish, Weird TV show, actor Levi, eren is bi, how does one tag, levi has to act nice, lots of cussing, possible future smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-06-17 13:20:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15462276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bitterlikesweets/pseuds/Bitterlikesweets
Summary: Eren’s college life revolved around skipping classes and watching his favorite post-apocalyptic TV show with his best friends. More specifically, it revolved around a character from the show he loved so much.  When a chance rolls to around to meet the character and his actor too, he gets sucked into a stunt that nobody expected. A stunt that allows Eren to spend way more time with a short, grumpy actor than he ever could’ve dreamed of.Or basicallyLevi’s an actor. Eren’s a fanboy. A chance of a lifetime creates a way for all of Eren’s little fanboy dreams to come true.





	1. Chapter 1

Eren was not the kind of person that was considered responsible. He’d always resented the fact that people called him irresponsible, especially when he was trying so hard to be. However, when he found himself sitting at a computer ordering tickets that were way too expensive for an event that took place on a day that he definitely wasn’t free, he kind of understood. This was in no way a responsible decision. But it was a decision he was definitely going to make.

 

Yes, it was on a Friday, which was when he had class, and it would cost over a hundred dollars that he couldn’t afford to spend, but he’d be fine living off of cereal and instant noodles for a couple of months as long as it meant he could go. And he _really_ wanted to go, whether it was a good idea or not. How often would he have the chance to speak to his all time favorite character in person?

 

The show Eren had been watching since it had first come out in his senior year of high school was holding an event in a city park just an hour from where Eren lived. Ten of the actors from the show were going to be there, and they were supposed to meet their fans as the characters they played and answer any questions the fans might have. One of those ten actors played his favorite character, Rivaille, from the show. It was obvious that he had to go. A chance like that may never come again.

 

“Eren? What are you doing?”

 

Eren looked over his shoulder to see that his roommate and childhood friend, Mikasa, was poking her head into his doorway, her gaze fixed on the debit card in his hand. He moved it out of her sight. Mikasa liked to act like his mom all the time; she’d definitely try to stop him from going.

 

“Well, you know Rivaille, right?”

 

Mikasa raised an eyebrow at him and frowned.

 

“ _No_ , Eren, I don’t know the character that you’ve been obsessed with for three years and that you made a fan blog for on Tumblr. Seriously, what are you doing?”

 

Eren glanced at his computer, and he took a deep breath, trying to choose his words carefully. He hadn’t paid for the ticket yet, and he knew that the wrong phrase could have Mikasa trying to wrestle the debit card from his hands. And maybe it was best for his bank account if she did. But honestly, Eren didn’t give a fuck about his bank account at the moment.

 

“If I told you that it was possible for me to meet and talk to Rivaille, what would you say?”

 

“I’d say you’re crazy because he’s a fictional character.”

 

He sighed, trying to type his info into the website as subtly as he could.

 

“I mean, if I could meet his actor.”

 

“I heard his actor is supposed to be an asshole, so there’s no way you would meet him. Would you stop being cryptic and just tell me what you mean?”

 

He sighed.

 

“I’m about to spend $167 to go see Rivaille’s actor being Rivaille in person, and I don’t want you to stop me.”

 

“$167?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Mikasa narrowed her eyes at him, even as he continued to slowly type on his computer.

 

“Eren?”

 

“Yes?” he replied, feeling a bit uneasy about the low threat lingering in her tone.

 

“How much money do you have in your account?”

 

“Enough to pay rent after I buy this,” he said quickly, hoping that was all it would take to appease her.

 

She was frowning at him for a long time, but eventually she just sighed and shrugged.

 

“Fine. Do what you want. I’m not going to feed you if you don’t have enough money to eat.”

 

Oh, so that was how it was. All those times before when he told her he was going to spend a lot, it had never been about him starving or going broke. No, all this time her concern was that she’d have to pay more rent.

 

Well, he guess he couldn’t really blame her. He’d probably tackle her and hide her debit card too if he knew that her using it meant that he’d have to pay twice as much for rent that month.

 

Mikasa left the room, and he turned back to his computer. It looked like there were two dates for the event. One was a Friday and the other was a Saturday. So he could either skip class or be responsible and go on Saturday instead.

 

Eren bought himself a ticket for Friday.

 

He was so excited. He kinda felt like an idiot, he was so excited. Eren had first been introduced to the show by his best friend and other roommate, Armin. Armin had burst into his room, gushing about some post-apocalyptic world where a mad scientist had given animals greater intelligence and as a result, animals were ruling the world. At first, Eren had been skeptical since it sounded a lot like the Lion King but gone horribly, horribly wrong and he wasn't sure if he would really be into it. But after the first few episodes he got hooked and couldn’t stop watching.

 

His favorite character entered the show about halfway through the first season, and at first, he seemed like a worthless, unskilled character who was pointlessly optimistic and seemed like he was just there to be eye candy for the female viewers—though the females weren’t the only one enjoying the eye candy. And his skills never really got better, making him a character who sometimes held the better characters back, making him disliked by most of the people who watched the show. However, Eren started to realize that Rivaille was more than just a pretty face with no purpose; he had a deep inner strength and served as the emotional boost for everyone else. When something bad happened, he was there for support. When there needed to be a sacrifice, he was always the one offering himself up.

 

There was one scene that Eren really liked that locked the man in place as his favorite character. There was a moment when he walked straight into a lion’s den, as calmly as if he were walking to his friend’s house.

 

Basically, Eren loved Rivaille. He loved talking about the character, making memes and picking out scenes he liked and lines he liked to make gifs. One day, Mikasa told him that he spent so much time making things related to Rivaille that he should just make a blog or something. After a couple of years of messing around on Tumblr, he’d somehow become popular and known as Rivaille’s number one fan, and he had more people paying attention to the stupid shit he’d done than he’d ever expected. And he’d done it all without even mentioning his name or age or gender even once.

 

So, if things went well at the event for the show, maybe all his nerdy dreams could come true. Maybe he’d be able to talk to Rivaille all he wanted and get every question he wanted answered. And then maybe he’d feel a bit more satisfied and get into more hobbies that didn’t revolve around practically stalking a fictional character.

 

Despite all his time on the web, Eren had never really paid much attention to Rivaille’s actor though. His name was Levi Ackerman, but other than that, Eren really couldn’t be bothered to know anything about him.

 

He wondered if the man really was the huge asshole people said he was.

 

~~~

 

Eren was expecting the event to be crowded. He was expecting that it might be hard to be noticed by the people working. He was expecting a bit of rowdiness.

 

He _was not_ expecting the fucking war zone at the city park. He did not spend over a hundred dollars and then wait a month just to get there and be elbowed and pushed and shoved to the very back of the crowd. He was pissed beyond compare. Every time he tried to move forward, he seemed to fall further behind, and he was so far back that he couldn’t even see the actors. Luckily, they were all wearing mics and there were speakers all over the place, otherwise Eren would be even more mad than he already was.

 

The ten actors all had their own little lines, and fans came up to them one by one to ask questions and then have them answered. The problem was, the farther back you were, the lines became less and less defined until it just felt like everyone was squeezed together into a giant mass of human flesh. It was more than unpleasant.

 

“Oh my god! I can’t believe I’m going to meet _the_ Levi Ackerman today!” squealed a girl just in front of Eren. “I don’t even watch the stupid show, but I’m glad I came!”

 

Eren was ready to murder her, right there, at that very moment.

 

She called the show stupid and she _didn’t even watch it_. If his arms weren’t practically pinned to his sides by all the bodies around him, Eren was sure he would’ve tried to strangle her. He stared intently down at her. Short, a brunette, wearing a tie-dye crop top, really small eyes. He’d remember her appearance so that if he ever saw her again, he could remember to make her suffer.

 

“I heard that the character he plays is literally awful though,” the girl said to her friend. “It sucks that they gave Levi such a bad character.”

 

_‘You are going to die_ ,’ Eren thought, glaring down at her. ‘ _You are going to die very soon._ ’

 

The girl shut up, and Eren liked to think it was because she could sense his anger.

 

“Hello, everyone! Thanks so much for coming out tonight!”

 

A cheer went through the crowd as one of the actors spoke up. It was a voice he recognized as the main character of the show, Rina. Her actress was Petra Ral. She was a pretty good actress and a pretty good character, but there was only one person that Eren really wanted to hear the voice of that night.

 

“Since this event is for you, the fans, we were wondering who you’d like to hear from first!”

 

The entire crowd blew up, shouting so many names that it seemed like incoherent babble to Eren. He guessed that most of them would be for Rina though, since she was the main character.

 

“Aw, you’d all like me? I don’t know if I deserve all the attention…”

 

She went ahead and began answering questions, and most of them were dumb so Eren just zoned out. Questions about whether or not her character was interested in other characters, or which character was her favorite. One particularly vulgar idiot asked her if Rina would ever be willing to get nude on camera. Petra responded with confusion because she was trying to be Rina not herself. Rina didn’t know about any cameras around her.

 

Eren knew that he wasn’t the classiest person around, but he usually had enough manners to know what kind of questions not to ask because they’d make someone uncomfortable. After hearing that, he zoned out even more, knowing that listening would probably just worsen his mood. He just wanted to get up to the front and talk to Rivaille. He didn’t care about anything else.

 

Eren was vaguely aware that it was probably a waste of his money to go to something where he’d only get to ask one question and then spend of the rest of the time being pissed off. But it was far too late to take back his decision now.

 

Eren was also sad to notice that Rivaille wasn’t getting as many questions as the other characters, and when he did get some, they were all stupid like “what’s your type?” or “who do you want to date the most?” But he told himself that it was okay because he’d think of something great to ask him and redeem him.

 

And then there was an announcement a few hours after the event had started.

 

“Hey, everyone! Listen, there’s so many of you out there that we might not get to all of you! Hopefully you all bought tickets for tomorrow too!”

 

No. Eren did not buy tickets for tomorrow.

 

His hope was quickly fading and his anger was quickly building because in those hours of mostly pointless questions, he’d almost gotten to the front of the line, and there was no way he was leaving after getting so close. No matter what they said, he had to talk to them. He’d have to say something to convince them. Maybe mention his blog and talk about how many more people appreciated Rivaille thanks to him. That was free advertising! This was where he had to get paid back.

 

He clenched his hands into fists, trying to reign in his anger. He was going to talk to Rivaille. There was still a bit of time. He was going to make it.

 

And he was getting closer and closer and it seemed like he actually was going to make it. But then he remembered that he’d spent so long being pissed by everything that he hadn’t had the time to think up a good question. He was getting closer and closer and he was trying to think but his mind kept getting off topic and soon he was thinking about completely irrelevant things. Like, wow, Riviaille was a _lot_ shorter than Eren thought he was. And up close, his eyes seemed to be slightly blue, and he seemed a little bit gloomier in person than he did on TV. And holy crap he was next.

 

It was his turn.

 

Rivaille was smiling right at him, a mic taped to his cheek, allowing his voice to echo across the entire park.

 

“What’s your name?”

 

“E-Eren,” he stammered because all his anger and bravado had completely turned to dust and replaced with anxiousness that seemed to be engraved in his bones.

 

“What did you want to ask?”

 

Eren was sure his hands were shaking, so he hid them behind his back. He had to think quickly and calmly. A good question. A good question. A good—-

 

“How did you walk so calmly into a den of lions?” Eren blurted out.

 

_‘What the fuck was that?_ ’ Eren screamed in his head. That was not a good question. First, it was way too specific. He wasn’t even sure if the man playing Rivaille remembered the scene he was talking about, much less the character’s emotions and thought process during that specific scene.

 

At first there was a flicker of confusion in the eyes of the man standing in front of him. And then there was a grin, wide and strong as recognition replaced the confusion.

 

“Want me to show you?” Rivaille asked, holding out his hand.

 

Eren looked down at the man’s hand, thoroughly confused and honestly, a bit scared. He placed his hand in Rivaille’s, hoping that was the right move.

 

Rivaille’s gripped his hand tightly and Eren suddenly found himself being dragged across the park, away from the crowd and the other people and towards a trail that seemed to be leading towards a tall hill.

 

“Lev—I mean, Rivaille! Where are you going?” somebody screamed.

 

Rivaille didn’t respond; in fact, he ripped off the mic on his face and tossed it on the floor, and then he took off running, still dragging a completely confused Eren along by the hand.

 

And while Eren was being pulled off to who-knows-where with a character he’d only ever dreamed about meeting, Eren only had one thought in his head.

 

What. The. Fuck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This is only the first chapter, and I’m hoping I’ll be able to update very often from now on. I also hope the story seems good so far, and I’d appreciate any feedback anyone might have so that I can improve my writing and this story in the future! Thanks so much for reading! I actually have the next chapter already written, so I’ll post that soon too.


	2. Chapter 2

There were approximately a million things running through Eren’s head at the moment. Some of them were related to Levi. Was he really the big jerk everyone made him out to be? He’d heard about the man refusing interviews and glaring at nosy reporters, but he didn’t know enough about him. Was this sort of crazy stunt a normal thing for him? Or was this part of him being in character as Rivaille?

 

There was another more important question racing through his mind: where the hell were they going?

 

Rivaille—Levi, whatever—had crossed the grassy field and led him through a hole in the fence surrounding the city park. Now they were heading up some random hill, and they had only just stopped running. They appeared to have somehow escaped all their pursuers too.

 

Eren looked around, taking in the sight as well as he could in the darkness. The farther they walked, the more the lights from the event faded. The area they were in was strange, untouched. The park was very natural, but everything there was still very pristine; manmade. Where they were, some weeds seemed to crawl up his ankles, and there were no paths, just grass and other small plants. The occasional rustling in nearby trees didn’t help to calm his nerves.

 

He moved a little closer to Rivaille. Eren told himself that it wasn’t because he was scared. That he was in no way afraid of all the things that could’ve been lurking in the random unpopulated area that looked like it could’ve been hiding a bear or a drug dealer or something. Nope. He wasn’t scared one bit.

 

The squirrel running through the grass beside him did startle him a little though.

 

Um,” he began, his gaze locked on the hand that was still holding his. He’d nearly forgotten about their interlocked fingers because of all the commotion. “Rivaille?”

 

Crap. Should he have called him Levi? But he could only see the man in front of him as Rivaille, the character he’d always associated the man’s face with. But he was supposed to be acting in character, so it was fine right?

 

“Yes?”

 

Holy crap. He knew that the man was standing right in front of him, but hearing his voice just felt absolutely amazing, especially in this more intimate setting.

 

Rivaille’s was low and deep and smooth, and Eren really, _really_ wanted to hear his name in that voice, just so that all his little fanboy dreams could come true.

 

“Where are we going?”

 

“To the lion’s den,” Rivaille said.

 

“What do you mean? I don’t think there are any lions near here… I did pass by a strip club called the Lion’s Den on the way here though.”

 

Rivaille laughed, and the sound made Eren’s heart grow wings and practically fly around his chest like a deranged bird. He heard that Levi never laughed, so it was okay to think that this wasn’t Levi. This was Rivaille, the man that Eren actually cared about.

 

“Just wait,” Rivaille said, and Eren obliged, falling silent as he was pulled along.

 

He wondered what all the people back in the park were thinking. He also wondered if his blog was blowing up. Ever since he’d gotten somewhat popular, people always fed him info about anything and everything that had to do with Rivaille. No doubt, they would all be trying to tell him all about it. Little did they know that he was the special fan being dragged away.

 

They reached the top of a grassy hill, and on one side, Eren could see the park. People will running around wildly, still in a mess due to Rivaille’s disappearance. But when he looked at the dark haired man standing beside him, his gaze was somewhere else.

 

“Your name was Eren?” He looked up at Eren, who was internally screaming, and Eren nodded.

 

Silently, he pointed, and Eren’s gaze followed the direction and saw extremely large cages in the distance. Once his eyes fully adjusted to the lack of light, he could see shadows moving within the cages. They looked like lions.

 

“Are those real?” he whispered, as if his voice could disturb them and set them off from so far away.

 

“Yes. Are you scared of them?”

 

“Uh, yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

 

“Are you scared of them because of the things you’ve heard about them, or from experience?”

 

Eren frowned at Rivaille, whose gaze was locked on the lions down below.

 

“From what I’ve heard,” Eren replied.

 

“You asked me how I was so calm,” Rivaille began. “But why wouldn’t I have been? When I saw the lions, I didn’t think of the things I’d heard about them. I only thought about what I saw in front of me, and what I saw didn’t frighten me.”

 

Eren looked down at the lions and then back at Rivaille. He thought of the lack of people asking him questions, and how Levi was so widely known as a jerk. He wondered if Levi saw himself as the lion, who was so easily judged just because of what people thought he was like. Or maybe it was a reference to how Rivaille was so easily judged and thought to be a worthless character.

 

As Eren stood beside the dark haired man, he wondered who was talking to him, trying to tell him something. Rivaille, the character, or Levi, the actor who played him.

 

The man sighed, glancing over his shoulder at the park.

 

“We should go back,” he said, and he released Eren’s hand.

 

Eren followed him back silently, thinking about everything he’d just witnessed. Eventually, they reached the hole in the fence at one end of the park. The hole they first escaped through.

 

“It’s probably best if you went home for now,” said Rivaille—or Levi, Eren didn’t know which was more fitting. “They’re going to be all over you if you go back in.”

 

“What about you?”

 

“I’ll be fine.”

 

He ducked through the hole, and Eren heard everyone screaming and yelling once he was seen. Eren walked around the park, trying to sneak to his car. He wondered if anyone had gotten a good look at his face. He read online that the whole event was going to be streamed live through Facebook or something. Maybe Mikasa and Armin were watching it and having a laugh.

 

After getting in his car, he looked at his phone. As expected, he had a huge amount of notifications from Tumblr, which he decided to deal with later. Another thing he wasn’t surprised to see was a couple of missed calls from Mikasa. He’d been dragged away into the darkness by a complete stranger, so she had every right to be worried. Actually, Eren probably should’ve been more cautious about the whole thing. If it had been anyone else, he probably wouldn’t have let himself get pulled away like that. But since it was Rivaille, he let his guard down.

 

He was lucky that nothing bad happened.

 

His curiosity was at its height thanks to everything that had happened. He decided to look up Levi’s age. Rivaille was supposed to be 24, which was only three years older than Eren. He assumed that Levi was around the same age. He didn’t look that old at all, so he assumed that he also would only be a bit older than Eren.

 

He opened up a water bottle he’d left in the cup holder, and took a drink, searching the info with one hand.

 

He nearly choked.

 

Levi Ackerman was 33. A whole twelve years older than Eren. Holy crap.

 

Well… It wasn’t _that_ bad. When he was in high school, he knew some girls who fawned over some famous dudes in their forties. Plus that one dude from Divergent was forty something right? He’d heard a rumor about that once. Even little thirteen year olds were probably thinking he was hot.

 

So the fact that Eren had been ogling that man for the past four years or so was fine, right?

 

It didn’t matter. Levi was famous, and age wasn’t as important when you were admiring someone famous. Besides, it was _Rivaille_ that Eren liked, not Levi. And Rivaille was younger, nicer, better. He just so happened to be played by a man who was older and meaner.

 

Oh, man. Was this how Mikasa felt all those years ago when she found out that the guy who played Troy in high school musical wasn’t actually the age of a sophomore in high school?

 

Eren set his water bottle and phone down, wiping his face off since the shock had made his mouth drop open and spill his water all over himself. Damn it. He should’ve listened to Mikasa when she told him to always keep tissues in his car.

 

When his mom died back in middle school, Mikasa had practically become his mom, nagging him and being stern with him. But since she was so close to his age, he didn’t like that she acted like she was more mature than him and always ignored whatever she said.

 

And he usually ended up regretting it because Mikasa was the responsible person, not him. Irresponsible people like him usually had a lot of regrets.

 

He sighed, turning on his car and driving out of the parking lot.

 

Oh, man. There was another big thing that he really regretted.

 

A big poster hung in the middle of his wall, just over his bed. A poster of a twenty-four year old character that just so happened to actually be a thirty-three year old man. A picture of that man smiling. A picture that had a big fat kiss mark right on the man’s cheek thanks to a drunken dare that had taken place on Eren’s twenty-first birthday.

 

A poster that he was going to fucking shred when he got home.

 

He was probably also going to destroy a certain tube of lipstick in Mikasa’s room.

 

He was also probably gonna punch Jean in the gut if he ever dared to bring it up.

 

Oh, yeah, Eren knew a lot about regret.

 

Eren had a lot of his little fanboy dreams come true that night. But meeting Levi in person also made him realize that some of his fanboy tendencies were really, _really_ embarrassing.

 

He just hoped that he’d never ever see Levi in person again. He also hoped that Levi would never ever know how much of a huge nerd he was. And obviously, the chances that would ever happen were very low. Just in case though, he’d definitely have to trash that poster in his room.

 

But it’d hurt like hell to get rid of it. He really loved that poster. He’d had the poster for a couple of years, so he was kinda attached to it. It was a picture of Rivaille riding a lion with these weird blue eyes that Eren had never seen on a lion before. He’d been so happy to get it. Amid all the horrible shit he’d been going through with leaving home for college and all the fights he’d been having with his dad at the time, the poster was like a ray of sunshine in darkness. It was also the first post on his blog because he was really excited to show off the limited edition poster he’d managed to win in a online giveaway. None of his friends had been as excited as he was about it, so he’d posted it a picture of it to see if he could find someone as excited as he was about it.

 

He also liked being able to see Rivaille’s face before he went to sleep. Or during the day. Or whenever really. He just liked seeing his face. Sometimes, if he looked at the poster enough, he would have a dream with Rivaille in it.

 

...Maybe he’d burn the poster instead. Maybe he could burn all his shame along with it.


	3. Chapter 3

When Eren  got home, it was close to eleven at night. He expected to see Armin sitting on the couch, doing some late night reading like he always did, but was greeted with an empty living room. Then, he remembered that Armin was spending the night at Jean’s house so that they could finish some project for a class together. He sighed. Armin was pretty much the only one of his friends that he talked to about the show he liked that would know what he was talking about. Sure, Mikasa would listen, but she’d never watch.

 

“Too much anime to watch first,” she’d always say.

 

He walked into the kitchen, and saw Mikasa sitting alone in the dark, the only light coming from her cell phone.

 

“What are you doing up?” he asked, flicking on a light. She closed her eyes at the sudden brightness, covering her face with her scarf to take a little extra time to adjust.  “Aren’t you always the one getting on my back for staying up too late?”

 

“Your Tumblr is keeping me up. They’re all freaking out about the event. I was also watching the live stream.”

 

“Keeping tabs on me?” Eren asked, pulling up a chair next to her at their kitchen table.

 

Mikasa, Eren, and Armin were all renting a small house together until they all saved up enough to get their own places. But Eren was always spending his money on some kind of merch for his show, and Armin was buying more books than he had space for constantly, so Mikasa was probably going to be stuck with the two of them for a while.

 

“Obviously. I knew you’d get into trouble.”

 

“I didn’t get into trouble,” he said.

 

Mikasa looked up from her phone and raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. He shrugged. He didn’t technically willingly get into trouble. He got _dragged_ into trouble. There was a difference.

 

“Lemme see,” he said, scooting closer to her so he could look at her phone. Her phone was way bigger than his, and his was also about to die, so he didn’t want to use it.

 

He’d given Mikasa access to his account so she could go through all the questions and comments that he got to see which ones were worth answering, since doing it all had gotten a little overwhelming on his own.

 

There were tons of anonymous messages. He scanned them quickly with his eyes, making note of which ones seemed to repeat.

 

_‘Did you see what happened at the event?’_

 

_‘You’ve just been replaced as the most important fan’_

 

_‘You should’ve gone to the event so this could happen to you!’_

 

_‘Some dude touched your mans, RivailleLover’_

 

Alright, maybe that last one wasn’t as common, but Eren thought it was funny, so it stuck in his mind.

 

Almost all of the messages linked to videos or pictures of the event. There were some shots where they got his face, but most of them were just of his back. Some people had taken the liberty of photoshopping x’s and devil horns over Eren’s face, and had sent them to him, saying that he should’ve been the one for it to happen to, if anyone.

 

He nearly laughed. If only they knew.

 

“What are you going to do?” Mikasa asked.

 

“Maybe I’ll tell  them it’s me,” he said, still scrolling through.

 

“I don’t know about that…”

 

“My face is already all over the internet by now,” Eren said, zooming in on one image that had his inserted his face into a toilet bowl. “What’s wrong with letting them know that it’s a big fan that got dragged away? I’m sure they’d be happier that way anyway.”

 

“Eren…”

 

“What’s the harm? It’s not like they have any info about me. I haven’t even put my name on here.”

 

Mikasa sighed, taking her phone back.

 

“Do what you want, just be careful.”

 

“Thanks, _Mom,_ ” he said, rolling his eyes.

 

They went back to their own rooms and Eren sat on his bed, sighing as he plugged his phone in. He quickly opened Tumblr and typed out a quick sentence to explain that yes, he’d seen the event and what had happened because _he_ was the one it had happened to.

 

Within ten minutes, his phone was blowing up again.

 

_‘Is this a joke?!’_

 

_‘There’s no way!’_

 

_‘I don’t believe you.’_

 

_‘Wait, does that mean you’re not a girl?’_

 

A girl? They thought he was a fucking _girl?_

 

Well, in hindsight, that made sense. It’s not like they knew anything about him. Why would they bother assuming he was male and bi when they could just assume he was a chick? It was obviously the easier conclusion to jump to. But also it was Tumblr. Shouldn’t they have known better?

 

A new notification popped up. A message.

 

_‘Pics or it’s not true.’_

 

Well, he was on the verge of doing something sketchy, but he was tempted to do it anyway. After all, his picture was everywhere already. What was wrong with one more?

 

He took a selfie, just to prove that he was not a girl, and that he was the one who had gotten special treatment.

 

Maybe he just wanted to inflate his ego a bit. He was one of Rivaille’s biggest fans, and he’d gotten to do something special with him. Maybe he just wanted to feel special a little longer.

 

Plus, he’d take any chance he could to brag about it now that it had happened.

 

The messages soon came rolling in, one after another.

 

_‘So it’s actually you!’_

 

_‘Wow, never seen your face before.’_

 

_‘You’re cuter than I expected.’_

 

_‘Disappointed you’re not a girl.’_

 

One stuck out to him amongst all the others. Not because of the words, but because of the username.

 

They said: _‘You’re a bigger nerd than I thought you were.’_

 

But the username was _TheRealLeviAckerman_.

 

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

 

He freaked out. He stood up. He paced his room. He bit his hand to stop himself from letting out any sort of embarrassing noise, rocking back and forth on his heels. He looked around his room, his hand still in his mouth.

 

And then his gaze locked on something hanging over his bed. A poster. A poster of Rivaille, of Levi, with a pink lipstick mark on his cheek, as obvious as if somebody had stamped on a kiss mark in ink.

 

He quickly looked at his phone, checking his selfie to see if he was lucky enough that it wasn’t showing up. But no. It was right there towards the corner of the image. A big mark that seemed horribly obvious now that he had noticed it.

 

He’d forgotten to take the poster down.

 

He’d taken a picture with the poster in it.

 

And Levi had seen it. The real person, Levi Ackerman had seen it.

 

He wanted to die. Die right in that very moment.

 

He got another notification. A private message from Levi to his account.

 

_‘So, I happened to get in trouble with my manager for running off like that. However, the producer of the show called to thank me for bringing so much attention to the event and the show. Sales for tomorrow’s event shot up, and the producer was insistent on making me thank you. So, because I’m forced to, I’m thanking you.’_

 

_‘Also, did you kiss that picture of me, or did it come like that?’_

 

_‘Never mind. I don’t want to know.’_

 

“M-Mikasa. Mikasa?”

 

Eren scrambled out of his room, rushing to his friend’s room, his phone still tight in his hand. Her door was closed, so he banged on her door, reading the messages over and over and over again.

 

Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap. Holy crap.

 

“Mikasa!”

 

She threw open the door, a teddy bear in one hand and a baseball bat in the other. Her eyes were narrowed, and he couldn’t tell if she was annoyed or worried or both.

 

“What kind of emergency is this?” she asked.

 

His voice seemed caught in his throat now, so he took the teddy bear from her, and she sighed, tossing the bat on the ground.

 

She took his phone, scanning the messages quickly, her eyes growing wide.

 

“Is this…?”

 

He just nodded, squeezing the teddy bear tightly in his hands, trying to get a grip on his emotions.

 

The actor that played his favorite character knew he had a blog dedicated to that character. He also knew that Eren was the same fan he’d been pulling along by the hand earlier that night. He also knew that Eren had a poster of him with a kiss mark that had questionable origins.

 

Eren came to a conclusion. He was going to die of shame.

 

“Well, you answer him,” Mikasa said, giving his phone back.

 

“Answer him?” Eren choked out. Answer the famous person who probably thought he was a super nerd? How?!

 

“Yes. Answer him.”

 

“What do I say?”

 

Mikasa shrugged.

 

“Mikasa—”

 

“It is too late at night for me to be trying to make decisions for you,” Mikasa said, shoving Eren out of her room. “Take Eren Jr. and go think of something yourself. Then go to sleep.”

 

“Eren Jr?”

 

“Goodnight, Eren,” Mikasa said firmly, pushing him all the way out and then closing the door behind him.

 

He glanced at the teddy bear in his hand—Eren Jr apparently—and took a deep breath. It was fine. Levi was a person. A famous person, yes, but still just a person. Eren knew how to talk to people. He didn’t need to be scared.

 

He tried to type out something as quickly as he could so that he wouldn’t overthink anything.

 

_‘I don’t need to be thanked. Also, it’s a good thing you don’t want to know because I’m not going to tell you.’_

 

After he sent it, he felt anxious. Should he have said that? His first instinct is usually to be aggressive in some way, so he just naturally responded with a bit of sass. Was it fine?

 

Was he thinking way too much about an older man who would probably never talk to him again?

 

He sighed, tucking Eren Jr. under his arm and walking back to his room.

 

That was right. He was just a fan. Levi was someone important. He didn’t even talk to Eren because he wanted to, it was because his producer said to. It didn’t matter. He wouldn’t even have to worry about Levi anymore. Sure, there was always the mortifying knowledge that the man had seen the giant lipstick stain on his poster, but Eren would be able to push that to the back of his mind if he tried hard enough. Then Levi could go back to just being Rivaille in his mind, and Eren could go back to being nonexistent in Levi’s mind. He was sure that Levi had plenty of weird fans. He was just one of many, forgettable just like everyone else.

 

He got another notification and nearly jumped.

 

‘ _That almost sounded like a challenge.’_ A message from Levi.

 

‘ _It wasn’t.’_ Eren replied quickly.

 

_‘Oh really?’_

 

Eren bit his lip, a mix of excitement and anxiety bubbling up in his stomach as he laid in his bed, his phone over his head.

 

_‘You sound like you want it to be.’_

 

‘ _Isn’t someone too confident for a little brat?’_

 

_‘Maybe I am.’_

 

Was he being too bold? Too casual? But Levi was still responding…

 

_‘Alright, if you’re so confident, then I am taking that other message as a challenge. I’m going to get you to tell me the truth about that little poster.’_

 

_‘Go ahead and try. Maybe I will if you ask nicely.’_

 

Eren definitely would not. Eren would rather die than admit that he kissed a picture of Levi.

 

Actually, if he was being honest, that time with the lipstick wasn’t the only time.

 

_‘Asking nicely is not what I do.’_

 

_‘So what do you do?’_

 

_‘You’d like to know, wouldn’t you?’_

 

_‘Maybe.’_

 

_‘Then you’ll have to wait. Goodbye, nerd.’_

 

_‘Bye then.’_

 

Eren rolled over in his bed, holding his phone close to himself and gazing up at the poster of Rivaille on the wall. Rivaille and Levi were definitely different. Two completely different people. But as Eren looked down at his phone and reread the messages, he thought that both of them were people he was interested in.


	4. Chapter 4

Eren was sitting in the kitchen, watching the live stream on Facebook for the second day of the event when he heard his front door open and then quietly shut. After a moment, Armin wandered into the kitchen, his head down. Eren turned down his volume a bit and then set his phone down, turning to face his friend.

 

“Project not going well?” Eren asked as he watched his blond friend pull a tub of ice cream out of their freezer.

 

Armin blinked, looking over at Eren in surprise, as if he had just noticed that he was there. He tucked the ice cream under his arm, shaking his head as he walked slowly to the drawer where they kept their silverware.

 

“No, it’s fine. Marco is on spring break right now, I guess, so he just came back from where he was studying abroad. He and Jean wanted time alone to catch up.”

 

“Oh yeah, he was in England or something right?”

 

Armin sighed.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“And you’re sad that they’re catching up?”

 

“I’m not sad,” Armin said quickly, “I’m just tired. I slept over so that we could finish our project and then got kicked out just before we were done.”

 

“And the ice cream?”

 

“I’m just in the mood for it,” Armin said, sitting down beside Eren at their kitchen table. Eren shrugged at him and went back to watching the stream on his phone.

 

“Is that the meet and greet thing for _The Warriors?”_ Armin asked, popping the lid off of the tub of ice cream.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Armin sighed slightly, shoving a spoonful of the creamy desert into his mouth.

 

“Wish I could’ve gone,” he said after a moment.

 

He then turned to Eren, scooping up another spoonful.

 

“Didn’t you go? How was that?”

 

Eren shrugged, trying to act nonchalant even though he’d been dying to tell Armin about it since it happened.

 

“I met Rivaille.”

 

“And that was it?”

 

“No,” Eren said, unable to stop a small smile coming to his lips as he recalled his excitement from the other night. “He kind of took me away from the event just to talk to me.”

 

There was a long pause when neither of them said anything. Armin slowly set his spoon down and covered his ice cream, frowning.

 

“I’m sorry, what? Can you repeat that?” Armin asked slowly.

 

“Well, you could probably find it on YouTube at this point. Here, I’ll find it and show you.”

 

Eren grabbed his phone and turned up the volume, about to switch to YouTube when the stream caught his eye.

 

“How did you walk so calmly into a den of lions?” a girl asked Rivaille, fidgeting nervously. The camera zoomed in on his face for a moment, and Eren held his breath, wondering what would happen.

 

Rivaille smiled at her.

 

“Sorry,” he said, “that’s my little secret.”

 

Eren’s heart skipped a beat.

 

The camera zoomed out, and Eren could see how devastated the girl was that Rivaille hadn’t stolen her away like he’d done to Eren. Of course, Eren knew that he probably was told not to answer that question because of the trouble he’d gotten in when he had done it with Eren. He knew that it had nothing to do with him.

 

But he couldn’t help but feel a little special.

 

“Eren?” Armin asked.

 

Eren cleared his throat.

 

“Right. Sorry. Here I’ll show you.”

 

He pulled up YouTube and looked up the event, and the first thing that showed up was a video showing Levi taking a random fan away. He clicked on it, and cringed a bit when he heard himself blurt out the question. He hadn’t noticed when he was saying it, but his voice sounded higher when he spoke, probably because he had been so nervous at the time.

 

Then there was Rivaille’s voice, much louder than his. He watched himself take the man’s hand, and he felt Armin’s hand on his arm once he saw Eren and Rivaille take off running.

 

“That’s you? That’s actually you?”

 

“Yeah, that’s actually me. Can’t you tell?”

 

“Well, yes, I can see that it is you, but that’s so insane that I just thought I could be imagining it.”

 

Eren laughed, patting Armin’s hand. His ice cream now forgotten, Armin’s blue eyes were shining as he looked at Eren.

 

“So what did he tell you? How far did you go? Do you think that reporters are going to come after you now? Should I give you one of my face masks for when you go out?”

 

“Woah! Chill. I’m sure nothing like that would happen. It’s not like there’s anything going on. He just took me to this place nearby where I could see these lions and basically told me not to judge things by what I heard about them.”

 

“Lions? Why were there lions nearby?”

 

Eren shrugged. He hadn’t really thought about it at the time. He just knew that it was cool. Maybe there was a zoo there he didn’t know about or something.

 

Armin frowned and pulled out his own phone, typing something out. He was silent for a moment before looking back at Eren.

 

“It must be this wildlife preserve,” Armin said, showing Eren a few pictures of the place. “It says that they take animals who were illegally obtained, abused, or can no longer live in the wild. Maybe the lions were people’s pets or something and that place is holding them temporarily.”

 

“Wow.”

 

“My question is why did Rivaille specifically take you there?”

 

Eren shrugged again. He was also confused about the man’s reasoning, but he was okay with just thinking about it as pure coincidence. He just asked the right question and Rivaille just acted within character. It wasn’t like Eren had been chosen for any other reason.

 

“Oh,” Armin said softly, smiling. “Jean sent me something.”

 

Eren turned back to his own phone when Armin’s phone suddenly erupted with the sounds of dozens of voices, all frantically talking over each other. Eren frowned, peeking over his friend’s shoulder to see several reporters following a familiar looking scowling man with raven black hair. Behind him was a particularly intimidating, tall blond man with thick eyebrows and vibrant blue eyes, making him look almost startlingly harsh whenever he looked into the camera.

 

“Levi!” shouted the reporter that was the most in focus, forcing their voice to be heard over the others. “What is your relationship with that fan?”

 

Levi turned to the camera, scowling at the reporter, his head lowered, casting a shadow over his eyes. The blond man had a firm hand on his back, pushing Levi forward even as the actor continued to glare daggers at the reporter.

 

Having not got an answer, the reporter changed tactics, asking a different question.

 

“What happened between you two?”

 

Levi glanced back at the large blond man, who shook his head slightly, and then he turned back to look at the reporter, the harsh glare still etched onto his face.

 

“It doesn’t even matter! What happened is between Eren and my character, so if you want to know so badly, then ask him yourself!” he snapped, and the blond man following behind him frowned, pushing him harder and picking up their pace.

 

“So something _did_ happen between you then!” The reporter exclaimed, looking back at the camera with a grin.

 

The blond man turned to the reporter, shifting his position to shield Levi from the camera.

 

“Mr. Ackerman will not be answering any more questions!”

 

The video ended, and Eren leaned back in his seat.

 

“Is this… Is this really a big deal?” Eren asked, his voice hushed as Armin slowly set his phone down.

 

“Well, yeah. As far as I know, he’s notorious for not being particularly nice to his fans, avoiding autographs and refusing interviews. So the fact that he was nice to you--no, the fact that he stole you away is a big deal for Levi. It’s not normal.”

 

Why? Now Eren really didn’t understand. Was there something more than just coincidence? Had he met  Levi sometime before and that led him to favor him? But he was sure that he would remember meeting someone like Levi. Before that incident, he didn’t even know the man’s age. He wasn’t special to him in any way.

 

So it had to be his question that interested him. Was that really enough to make him treat Eren so differently than everyone else?

 

Or maybe he wasn’t special at all and he was just overthinking everything. He had a tendency to do that when he was around Armin, since overthinking was practically Armin’s favorite thing to do.

 

“It’ll probably end up being nothing,” Eren said, standing up. “I mean, nothing’s gonna happen if Levi won’t say anything about it. They’ll just leave him alone.”

 

“Or they’ll go after you instead,” Armin said. Eren scoffed.

 

“Yeah, right. How would they even find me, if they actually cared that much? They could find my face through my Tumblr, but not much else, especially because I’m not on social media that much.”

 

“I guess,” Armin said.

 

“Worry more about your melting ice cream than this stupid stuff. I’m gonna go to bed.”

 

Armin gasped after being reminded of his ice cream, and he looked sadly at what was slowly becoming a sweet soup. Eren retreated to his room, flopping down into his bed and reaching up to run his hands across his poster. He looked up at the poster, and up into Rivaille’s smiling face.

 

He knew that actors and their characters were always supposed to be different. The actor was never the same as the character. Somehow though, Eren had always thought that there were usually some similarities between a character and the actor who played them. But when he looked at Rivaille and thought about Levi, he could find pretty much nothing in common between them.

 

Nothing in common besides Eren.

 

He sighed heavily removing his pillow from under his head and shoving it on top of his face, letting loose a groan. He had to stop thinking. He’d just go to sleep, do his homework the next day, and then go to school on Monday with everything in his life back to normal.

 

~~~

 

It was Monday. Things weren’t normal. He had never been the type to draw much attention(excluding when he was being obnoxious or picking fights), but suddenly he felt people staring, casting multiple glances in his directions. He kept looking around to see who else was around to draw so much attention, but there didn’t appear to be anyone of importance.

 

“Hey, you. You with the brown hair!”

 

Despite knowing that there were plenty of people around him with brown hair, he turned towards the voice to see a random girl he’d never met marching towards him. He frowned, stopping his walk as she approached him. He really didn’t want to be late to class, especially after skipping class last Friday, but she seemed so determined to talk to him that he couldn’t help but be curious about what she wanted.

 

“What?” he asked, shoving his hands into the pocket of the hoodie he was wearing.

 

“You’re that guy from _The Warriors_ event, aren’t you? The one who got to run off with Rivaille?”

 

“Oh,” he said, a bit shocked that she recognized him so easily. Was it really that big of a deal? How many people had seen his face and now knew him as that guy from the event? “Yeah, that’s me.”

 

She grinned.

 

“That’s awesome. Was that whole thing like staged or something?”

 

Eren shook his head.

 

“It was totally random. I wasn’t expecting it at all.”

 

“So what? He just took you by the hand and started running?”

 

The girl began to walk, and before he knew it, she was walking him to class, asking him question after question. He wasn’t sure how much he was supposed to say about it to strangers, especially because Levi and that blonde guy with him had been so adamant about not saying anything. However, Levi did tell the reporter to go ask Eren instead, so could he take that as permission to say whatever he wanted about it?

 

They reached his class, so he tried to end the conversation, but the girl requested one last thing from him; his Twitter handle. He didn’t see anything wrong with it, so he gave it to her, and she winked at him and went on her way. He went into class and practically forgot about it until he saw his name being mentioned on a Twitter post. It was the girl talking about how she had seen Eren, and she had the picture that he’d posted on Tumblr. He cringed upon seeing the poster hanging over his bed, but since it was already in the picture, there was nothing he could do about it.

 

He put his phone away and tried to cast all thoughts of Levi away. He had to focus on school.

 

Fuck. Focus on school? The incident with Levi really messed up his head.

 

After class, he was ready to head home. On his way to the parking lot however, he noticed a couple news vans around the school. He wondered if there had been an accident or if his college was holding some kind of an event. He shrugged, just deciding to ignore it and go home.

 

At least, that was the plan.

 

“There he is!”

 

People with cameras and phones and microphones were surrounding him, and Eren was really, _really_ confused. They were all asking questions at once and his brain was spinning with confusion and flooded with all the sounds and he couldn’t understand what was going on at all. Through all of the noise, he could hear certain words coming up over and over again. Words like “Levi” and “Rivaille” and “Warriors.”

 

He didn’t know what to do at all. So he did what his instincts told him to do.

 

Run.

 

He pushed his way through the crowd of the reporters, fighting them off with as much restraint as he could as they tried to hold him back and got in his way. It wasn’t a very large crowd, but it was still rough getting through. Once he was out though, he took off at a dead sprint, turning corners and going through small hallways and hoping that they’d lose sight of him.

 

A large hand latched onto his arm, yanking him down a hall and shocking him so badly that it took all of Eren’s willpower not to punch him in the face.

 

All the while, Eren could only think ‘ _what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck!’_

 

Eren looked up at the man who grabbed him, and saw the cold blue eyes of the large blond man he’d seen with Levi in the video he watched with arm. The man released his arm, but he gestured for Eren to continue following him.

 

“Follow me. Trust me, it’s in your best interest to do so.”

 

Eren followed him slowly, glancing down at his phone as it vibrated.

 

He had a message from the girl he’d talked to earlier. She was apologizing because she had told her older, reporter boyfriend about meeting Eren, and the news had spread. So that girl was the reason he’d been surrounded by that huge mob.

 

And now he was following a random scary stranger that he’d considered punching in the face just a moment before.

 

_What the fuck?_


	5. Chapter 5

Eren and the blond man arrived at a black car with tinted windows, and the man gestured to the door. Eren frowned, looking from the man to the suspicious car. All the movies he watched where people got kidnapped, and all the things he’d heard about strangers and cars as a kid made him hesitate. It was a really suspicious situation. 

 

Could he run? He looked at the blond man, broad shouldered, and pretty clearly muscular. He doubted that he’d be able to run away from such a huge dude. He did sports back in high school, but hadn’t done much besides some trips to the gym since then. Honestly, that day at the event was the fastest he’d run in a while.

 

He bit his lip, looking back at the car. He knew had to do  _ something _ . He also knew that he didn’t want to go in the car. 

 

And then the passenger door was thrown open, and a fairly short person stepped out, dressed in a black hoodie, jeans, sunglasses, and a black face mask. Their hood was up, and Eren couldn’t see any part of their face or body through all the stuff they were wearing.

 

“Are you getting in the fucking car or not?”

 

Oh, wow. Eren didn’t recognize the body, but he knew the voice  instantly.

 

“Levi,” the blond man hissed, “back in the car. Now.”

 

Levi paid no attention to the man, and he instead removed his sunglasses, fixing Eren in place with a glare. Eren was holding his breath, unable to do anything but stare back at him until the man scowled.

 

“Are you getting in the fucking car or not?” Levi asked again, his voice low and practically a growl.

 

“Uh—Yeah, I-I will.”

 

Eren cursed himself for stuttering. He wanted to look cool and was failing. 

 

He got into the dark car, and the other two men got in after him, arguing as they began to drive away.

 

“I told you to stay in the car,” said the blond man.

 

“And I told you this was a shitty idea,”  Levi snapped back.

 

“It’s in everyone’s best interest. We all agreed—”

 

“Have you even told the kid why were practically fucking kidnapping him?”

 

“That’s—”

 

“No, you didn’t. So we didn’t all agree.”

 

“Levi—”

 

“Uh,” Eren began, cutting into their argument, “What’s going on?”

 

The blond man sighed heavily, and Eren wondered if they just wanted him to stay silent throughout the whole thing.

 

“Eren,” the blond man said, “I’m sure you’re aware of how the press is trying hard to exaggerate this whole ordeal from the recent  _ Warriors _ event.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Normally, they would’ve just focused on Levi, or brushed it off if we said there was no meaning behind that moment enough times. However,  _ someone _ decided that it would be a good idea to encourage the press to ask the fan instead.”

 

“They would’ve fucking done it anyway.”

 

“As I was saying,” the blond man said, talking over Levi, who sunk back down into his seat, scowling. “We didn’t think the stunt would go so far. However, from what we know, after being told to ask you about whatever happened, everyone became more interested in what actually went down. One online article we found actually somehow claimed to have found your address through an anonymous source, meaning they are likely to come to your house.”

 

“Okay…”

 

“If they find you even near there, they likely will refuse to leave you alone. Maybe they will stop pestering after some time, but the fact remains that if they confirm your address, until they decide not to pursue this story any further, they will make life extremely hard for you. So, we thought it would be best that they believe that they were wrong about your address by having you temporarily stay somewhere else until the press moves on,” the blond man explained.

 

Eren frowned.

 

“But how do we know that they’re being honest about having my address?”

 

“Would you like to take that chance? If it’s a lie, then yes, you’re fine. If it’s not, anyone who passed by will probably be questioned, people will be around your house during various times of the day and you’ll never feel certain about your privacy. Look, it’s not the first time that something like this has happened at our agency. There was a girl once—Isabel, I remember.”

 

Levi stiffened in his seat at the blond man’s words. Eren frowned.

 

“Something similar happened with her, though with a different actor. We thought that because nothing had truly happened that they’d leave her alone since there was nothing for them to find. But they refused to leave her alone, banged on her door day after day, sometimes followed her to school, and tried to sneak pictures through her window. Eventually, she had to move before they left her alone.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Eren didn’t know what else to say. The car was silent for a long moment. He’d heard had stories about paparazzi and reporters before, but he didn’t think they went that far. That sounded like a really crazy situation. That sort of thing wasn’t common, was it?

 

And if it was, what would happen to Mikasa and Armin? They lived with him, so they’d be affected by everything too. Eren didn’t want his friends to go through anything like that. 

 

The blond man cleared his throat. 

 

“In any case, I think you understand why it’s in your best interest to temporarily relocate.”

 

“So where will I be staying?” Eren asked.

 

“With me,” Levi replied.

 

…

 

_ What?  _

 

Did Eren hear that right? He was staying with… with Levi? The famous actor? The famous actor who played his all time favorite character in the whole world? He was going to be staying with him?

 

Was he dreaming? If he was dreaming, he didn’t want to wake up. Actually, if he was dreaming, he hoped the dream would shift and Levi would get Rivaille’s personality and run off into the sunset with him.

 

Eren pinched himself. It hurt. He wasn’t dreaming. Holy fuck, he wasn’t dreaming.

 

“Can you repeat that?” Eren asked, his heart and mind racing.

 

“With me. You’re staying with me. Got a problem?”

 

“N-no. Not at all. I just didn’t think—uh, is that okay with you?”

 

Levi scoffed. 

 

“Does it matter if it’s okay with me?”

 

“Levi—” the blond man began.

 

“Erwin,” Levi interrupted, completely ignoring the man as he continued to talk to Eren, “is my manager. Erwin Smith. He decides what I do, whether I want to do it or not.”

 

So… He didn’t want Eren staying with him. Eren’s excitement died down. Of course he didn’t. Why would he want an annoying fan around? Eren was just an annoying fan that was causing all kinds of trouble for him. Plus, Levi definitely seemed like the kind of man who enjoyed his privacy. It was no wonder he was so upset.

 

The blond man—Erwin—sighed.

 

“Listen, Eren. Don’t be discouraged by his words. This whole thing was Levi’s idea. He remembered what went down with Isabel and was worried about the same thing would happen to you.”

 

“I never said—” Levi tried to start, but he was quickly cut off.

 

“And though he would never admit such a thing, it is a fact that he was the one who suggested we relocate you to a secluded apartment that he’s currently renting and keeps for when he really wants his privacy.”

 

“Really?” Eren looked at Levi, who had put his sunglasses back on so that his expression was unreadable, not that he showed much emotion even when his face was uncovered. 

 

“His exact words—if I remember correctly—were ‘that bratty fan should stay at my smaller place so those shitty reporters won’t go after him as much.’ So, everything was his idea. That being said, I also want to point out that I am usually never who decides what Levi does because he will do what he wants whether I agree to it or not. So, I assure you, his attitude right now has nothing to do with you. I’m actually thinking that it’s because he’s upset that we didn’t talk to you before taking you away? Is that correct, Levi?”

 

Levi didn’t respond, looking out the window. Eren bit back a little smile, his previous excitement bubbling back into his chest again. He stared at the man’s back, his head held high even as Erwin revealed that he wasn’t as tough and angry as he seemed. 

 

Eren was a little happy to know that he’d gotten to learn a bit more about him. He felt like he was really privileged to get to see so many different sides of such a cool person; he’d already experienced things that nobody else ever would. He was also pleased to note that Levi clearly wasn’t as indifferent towards his fans as he seemed to be. Maybe he was just misunderstood.

 

“You breathe a word of this to no one.” Levi looked back at Eren, lowering his sunglasses to glare at him with his sharp, steely eyes. “If I hear about any of this coming out, I’ll make your life miserable. Got it?”

 

“Y-yes, sir!” Eren exclaimed quickly, suddenly very intimidated. He shrunk back into his seat, and Levi lifted his glasses back up and turned back to the front. Erwin chuckled, shaking his head as they came up to a red light. 

 

“We’re coming up to the apartment soon,” Erwin said. “Do you live with anyone? And do you have any medications or things you desperately need?”

 

“I have two roommates, and I don’t think there’s anything I need. Oh, but I need clothes.”

 

“If you can give us your sizes, we can get you some clothes. Also, I’d like for you to contact your roommates and tell them to pretend that you don’t live there. Tell them you’re staying at a hotel though; the less people who know about you living with Levi, the better. If this got out, it would be a much bigger deal than this little stunt from the event.”

 

“Okay,” Eren said, getting his phone out to text his friends. 

 

His hands were shaking a little. He was jittery, nervous. He still could barely believe everything that was happening to him. He  _ really  _ wanted to tell Mikasa and Armin the truth, but he also didn’t want to cause trouble for Levi and Erwin. Maybe once it was all over, he would be free to tell them all about it. 

 

His friends reacted to his text pretty much as he expected—they were worried, and confused, and Mikasa was a little frustrated. However, they both agreed to pretending he didn’t live with him. Mikasa tried to pester him and find out what hotel he was staying at, but he dodged the question over and over again until she finally gave up. He tucked his phone into his pocket and looked out the window to see them pulling into a parking lot in front of an apartment building.

 

Levi was leaning towards him suddenly, and Eren froze up, his eyes wide as he stared at the cold-faced man. Levi raised his hands and placed his sunglasses on Eren, narrowing his eyes for a moment after he had done it.

 

“Uh-um…” Eren didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t think of a proper response. 

 

Levi turned away and opened his car door, tugging his hood farther over his head.

 

“Let’s go,” Levi said.

 

Eren looked over at Erwin who just nodded.

 

“I’ll leave you two now. If you need anything, ask Levi to give you my number. If there’s anything I’ve missed, feel free to let me know also. I hope this isn’t too inconvenient for you.”

 

“Oh, no. It’s fine.” Eren paused, thinking things over for a second as he unbuckled his seatbelt. “Actually, my car… I left it at the school.”

 

Erwin frowned.

 

“I’ll… I’ll arrange to get it back here, but I’m going to need your keys.”

 

“Oh, sure.”

 

He fumbled with his keys for a moment before separating his car keys from his house key and handing the car key to Erwin. The man nodded, and Eren tried to think a moment more about everything that had been said. He didn’t think there was anything he was confused about, but he thought it might be best to think it all over now so that he wouldn’t have any questions later…

 

There was a bang on his car door, and he flinched, looking up through the window to see Levi glaring down at him, his fist raised. 

 

Okay. So he wasn’t going to get all his questions answered. 

 

“It was nice officially meeting you, Eren. It’s time for you to go,” Erwin said.

 

“Right…” Eren mumbled.

 

The whole thing was insane, right? Well, it was totally awesome and he was really excited about the whole thing, but it was crazy. He felt like something like this shouldn’t be happening to someone like him—someone so normal. But it was.

 

He got out of the car, and Levi marched forward, and he was quick to follow behind. 

 

Everything about the situation was insane. But Eren thought that he was really happy about it. 

 

That, and he was really, really scared of Levi.

 

“Hurry up!” the man snapped.

 

“Y-yes sir!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I hope this chapter wasn’t boring; it was mostly dialogue so that everything could be explained for future chapters, so there wasn’t much that happened... I hope you liked it a little anyway!! I promise that next chapters will be more interesting(at least I hope you guys will think they’re interesting) Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

__Eren wondered if he was going to faint. People on TV sometimes fainted when they got overwhelmed or saw their favorite celebrities in person. He felt like if he was ever going to faint, it would be right now as he was walking slowly behind Levi Ackerman himself. It seemed to be finally sinking in—the fact that he was actually going to be living with a famous person. Sure, he’d been thinking about it since they had brought it up, and yes, he’d known what they meant when they’d first said it. But when they’d been talking about it, it had all seemed so insane that it hadn’t _ really _ dawned on him.

 

Now that he was walking to the apartment where he’d be staying alone with Levi, it almost seemed too real.

 

His stomach was churning and his hands were still sweaty no matter how many times he frantically wiped them off on his jeans, and he just felt light headed and unsteady because  _ holy crap he was going to be living with a famous person. _

 

So, even though Eren had never fainted before and didn’t know what fainting felt like, he was pretty sure he was going to faint soon if he kept thinking about it.

 

So he decided to distract himself. Usually, when he distracted himself, he used Rivaille. Oh, God, thoughts of Rivaille had saved him so many times. When he was nervous for a test or when he was applying for college or trying to find a place to live, it was imagining Rivaille’s smile that pulled him through. When he was so angry that he felt like starting a fight, he’d try to think of Rivaille and what he would do in that situation. Whenever he was feeling bummed out he just thought of Rivaille and he would feel better.

 

Eren was so reliant on the character that it was kind of sad, and he knew that. 

 

He looked at Levi, dwarfed in the giant black hoodie that hid him so perfectly. And Eren thought of Rivaille.

 

In all of Eren’s fantasies, he’d somehow imagined Rivaille as someone bigger than him, both in height and muscle. But thinking of him as smaller was nice too. It added to his charm. He imagined Rivaille standing in front of him, looking up and flashing his signature grin…

 

“Oi, Eren.”

 

“Yes, Rivaille? Oh, shit—I mean, Levi! Levi is what I meant.”

 

Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap, crap.

 

Levi turned around, a scowl etched onto his face. Eren flinched, quickly bowing his head.

 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to call you that. It’s just that I’m used to associating your face and voice with his name so I’m not really used to the whole ‘Levi’ thing yet.”

 

_ Shut up,you incompetent fuck _ , Eren thought to himself as he resisted the urge to slap himself,  _ you sound like a creepy wuss. Play it cool. Play it cool like usual! _

 

“I, uh, I just—sorry, Levi. I didn’t mean to offend you. I hope I didn’t, uh...”

 

Eren was not playing it cool at all. He felt shameful heat spilling over his cheeks, and he  _ knew _ that his face was probably bright red. Idiot, idiot, idiot. He was a fucking idiot. 

 

He didn’t know why he couldn’t just be normal around Levi. If it were anyone else, he was sure he could’ve been the hotheaded asshole he always was(Jean was the one who had started calling Eren that, and he used to be offended by it, but now he just accepted it as fact). Levi was just so… intimidating. Like a tiny devil that could bite Eren’s head off at any moment.

 

Levi narrowed his eyes at Eren, and Eren swallowed nervously, hoping his fear wasn’t showing on his face.

 

Levi turned away, his voice gruff as he walked forward again.

 

“We’re about to go in, so take off your shoes and wipe your feet before you come in.”

 

“O-okay.”

 

Eren was kind of wishing that Rivaille was the real person and Levi was the fake one. Things would’ve been a lot easier that way. Rivaille was kind and smiled often and…

 

“What kind of shitty socks are those? Why are they so dirty? Take them off; you’re not going to wear those in here,” Levi snapped. 

 

Eren frowned, one foot still in midair as he stood in the doorway with one shoe off. He glanced down at his socks. They weren’t that dirty. They were a little brown on the bottom, but they were mostly white. The faint brown color was just because they hadn’t been washed well.

 

Levi was glaring pointedly at Eren’s feet, so with a sigh, he removed his socks too, shoving them into his shoes.

 

He looked around the apartment. It was clean. It had dark hardwood floors that appeared to be without a speck of dust. The walls were white, with nothing on them. Everything in the apartment seemed to be like that—clean, dark or white, and empty. The hardwood floors were cold against his feet as he followed Levi further inside. 

 

“There’s only one bedroom and one bathroom,” Levi said.

 

“So where will I be sleeping?” Eren asked.

 

Levi turned to face him, his arms crossed. 

 

“The couch.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“I’m going to set some ground rules,” Levi said, walking towards Eren. 

 

Eren swallowed nervously, but he stood still as Levi stalked closer to him.

 

“First, you’re not allowed to bother me while I’m working.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“If you ever make a mess, clean it up immediately.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“If you’re going to go somewhere, let me know first.”

 

“...Okay.”

 

Levi raised an eyebrow at the hesitation, but he seemed to decide that he didn’t care and continued on.

 

“Don’t talk to me more than necessary.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Feed yourself.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“Is ‘okay’ the only word you know?” Levi snapped, and Eren flinched.

 

“Sorry.”

 

Levi sighed, turning away from Eren.

 

“There’s one more rule. Never,  _ ever _ go into my room, no matter what the reason.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

Without another word, Levi marched across the living room and went into his bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind him. Eren sighed, walking slowly over to Levi’s black couch and tossing himself on it. He stared up at the ceiling, his legs dangling off the edge of one of the armrests.

 

“What,” Eren mumbled to himself, “no grand tour?”

 

He rubbed his face with his hands, trying to get a grip on his emotions.

 

It seemed like living with a famous person wouldn’t be as glamorous as he had imagined. In all the fanfics he’d ever read, all kinds of amazing things happened in that kind of situation; shared beds, intimate interactions, eating together, seeing sides of the person no one else knew, getting spoiled rotten… 

 

Not that Eren necessarily wanted any sort of magical, romantic thing to happen between him and Levi. It would just be better than being treated like the scum of the Earth. It seemed like the only way he’d ever talk to Levi was so that he could check in with him before leaving. So Levi was basically going to be his unhappy chaperone until the whole thing blew over.

 

Eren turned on his side and faced the back of the couch. It wasn’t a comfortable couch; it was hard, as if nobody had ever sat on it. All the furniture in the house he lived in with Mikasa and Armin was old and soft and comfortable. 

 

When would he even be allowed to see his friends? Was he only allowed to leave for work and school? Eren wasn’t sure.

 

Eren wasn’t sure about a lot of things at the moment.

 

What was he even going to do trapped in the apartment all day?

 

Eren glanced around. Besides the couch and a glass coffee table, the living room was practically empty. There wasn’t even a TV. There was a bookcase against the wall near the bedroom door, but Eren had never been particularly interested in reading. He sighed.

 

So, at the moment (and probably for the foreseeable future) Eren had no friends to hang out with, no one but Levi to talk to, and nothing to do.

 

He sighed, and he decided to go on Tumblr. Nothing cheered him up like scrolling through his blog and seeing so much of Rivaille. It helped, for a moment. But when he looked at Rivaille’s face, it was like he could hear Levi’s voice in his ear, scolding him. He put his phone down with an annoyed groan and dragged his fingers through his hair. 

 

The living room was cold. So was the hard couch. Eren curled in on himself. He thought of asking Levi for a blanket. 

 

Then he remembered the man’s sharp glare and the rules he’d just been told.

 

And Eren stayed silent.

 

~~~

 

Eren didn’t remember falling asleep, but when he woke up, the world was pitch black. He blinked into the darkness, momentarily forgetting where he was. He looked around as his eyes began to adjust to the lack of light and sat up slightly, though the shoulder he had been lying on protested any movement. He let out a grunt, massaging it with his fingers and wincing. 

 

Well, maybe he’d get used to waking up a little sore every morning. Or maybe the couch would get softer so that it didn’t feel like he was lying on a rock. 

 

The front door to the apartment opened, letting in what little light there was outside. Eren covered his eyes, unprepared for the sudden change in brightness. He heard the door shut, and then he heard the click of a button. He uncovered his eyes, though he quickly shut them again. Levi had turned on the lights in the room and blinded Eren again.

 

“So, you’re awake,” Levi’s low voice was accompanied by the clang of metal against a hard surface. Eren opened his eyes slowly, and he squinted up at the older man, who had a small grocery bag in one hand and a rolled up white blanket in the other.

 

“How long have I been asleep?” Eren asked. 

 

“I wouldn’t know,” Levi said, placing the blanket down on top of the coffee table. “Erwin brought your car here.”

 

Eren’s gaze dropped to the coffee table and saw his car key, attached to one other key he didn’t recognize.

 

He picked it up with a frown.

 

“What’s this one?”

 

“Key to the apartment,” Levi said.

 

“Oh, okay.”

 

Levi looked down at Eren, who was staring thoughtfully at the little key in his hand. Eren’s eyes were wide, once again hit with the reality of the ridiculous situation he was in. How had somebody like him—a completely ordinary person—gotten this lucky?

 

Levi’s eyes narrowed.

 

“If you lose it, don’t expect me to let you back in,” he said. “You’re staying with me, but your safety is your own responsibility.”

 

Eren’s lips pressed into a tight line that he forced to be a smile. He didn’t know what Levi thought of him, but clearly he hadn’t made the greatest impression.

 

“Right,” Eren replied, tucking his keys into his pocket, and Levi quickly disappeared into a room that was across from the entrance.

 

Well… maybe lucky wasn’t the right word after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahahahaha I’m literally so late with this update.... How long has it been? Like, half a year?
> 
> But I’m hoping to be more active with this story after this! Also, I’m going to be posting on my tumblr, bitterlikesweetss, whenever I update, so...yeah.
> 
> Well, anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter and will continue reading and supporting this story!
> 
>  
> 
> Oh, also, I almost never fully edit things before I post them, so if there’s any mistakes or... weird author’s notes littered around the story, I’m sorry, and I’ll fix it if you’ll point them out!


	7. Chapter 7

Eren cautiously crept over to the room that Levi had gone into, trying to work up his confidence again. He was just going to ask the man if he could go out and eat. Surely the man wouldn’t say  _ no _ . Perhaps he’d be a bit annoyed that Eren was bothering him after he’d clearly ended the conversation, but Eren had been careful to give him some time to himself. Besides, he couldn’t stop Eren from eating. There would be no point to  that. Anyway, nobody was that much of an asshole.

 

...Right?

 

But Levi had been extremely cold to him since he had gotten into that car with him earlier. Levi had even given him shit over the fucking socks he was wearing. Who knew what else might piss the man off? 

 

It already seemed like anything that Eren did was enough to make him angry. He really didn’t know what he had done to make Levi hate him so much. Their little conversation on Tumblr had been pretty friendly. But maybe that was just because it was some sort of stunt that he had been put up to by Erwin. Maybe back then he had been pretending to be nice, but now that he had to live with Eren, he couldn’t be bothered. 

 

Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to ask Levi yet. Maybe it was better to wait a little while longer.

 

His stomach growled in protest. 

 

Eren clenched his hands into fists, strengthening his resolve. He was being stupid. Why should he have to freak out about something so small? Since when did he ever freak out about anything? Levi was just a person, and if there was one thing Eren knew how to do, it was tell people what he wanted. He was making a big deal out of nothing. 

 

Eren puffed up his chest a little, and he raised his chin.

 

He was going to go in there, and he was just going to tell Levi that he was going out, and then he was going to go! That was it!

 

He whirled around the corner and entered to see Levi leaning against a black fridge and glaring pointedly at a kettle on an electric stove directly across from him. As soon as Eren stepped into view, his deep glare instantly shifted to the younger man, who froze up in the entryway of the kitchen.

 

“What?” Levi snapped, his voice cold as ever.

 

“I, er, I was wondering if I could go eat.”

 

Levi‘s long, thin eyebrows dipped down slightly, his scowl becoming even more harsh.

 

Then, he looked away from Eren and stared at the kettle again.

 

“Do what you want.”

 

“Okay.”

 

Eren ducked out of the kitchen as quickly as he could, but after a moment he turned abruptly on his heel and poked his head back into the kitchen, drawing the attention of the ever-scowling dark haired male once again. 

 

Levi raised a single eyebrow.

 

“Can I hang out with my friends?”

 

Levi sighed.

 

“Just don’t say anything stupid. And don’t get followed home.”

 

He narrowed his eyes, his voice dropping.

 

“And  _ don’t  _ tell them about this or me.”

 

Eren swallowed nervously and nodded, quickly turning away and rushing out the door, sending a brief text to Mikasa and Armin on his way out.

 

~~~

 

Mikasa and Armin found Eren slumped in the corner of a booth in a small pizza place, his face pressed against the table.They slipped into seats on either side of him, sharing concerned looks. Armin placed his hand on Eren’s shoulder, and he finally lifted his head, looking up at Armin with a sigh.

 

He really, really wanted to talk to them about Levi. 

 

He also really, really wanted to get on Levi’s good side. 

 

As far as he could tell, the two things didn’t go hand in hand. 

 

“Are you okay?” Armin asked.

 

“How’s the hotel?” Mikasa asked, moving closer to him.

 

Eren slowly sat up straight, frowning in confusion until he realized what she meant. 

 

“Oh, yeah, the hotel… It’s fine. I’m fine.”

 

Mikasa crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at Eren. Eren, not sure why he was suddenly under such intense scrutiny, turned to Armin for help, only to find that his blue-eyed friend was fixing him with a similar gaze, though slightly less menacing.

 

“What? What’s wrong with you guys?” 

 

“What’s wrong with us? What’s wrong with you?” Mikasa frowned at him.

 

“I don’t know what you mean!”

 

“Do you really expect us to not know when something is bothering you?”Armin asked. He nudged Eren’s arm slightly with the back of his hand. “So? Tell us what’s wrong.”

 

Eren bit his lip, looking at his two friends. It was clear that he wouldn’t be able to get away with saying nothing, but the way things were, he could barely tell them anything without getting in trouble. Actually, there pretty much wasn’t any way that he could tell them the whole truth about his situation without directly going against what Levi had told him. 

 

Ah, fuck it.

 

What Levi didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. 

 

“Well,” he began slowly, “I’m not actually staying at the… the hotel by myself. They have someone there watching over me.”

 

Mikasa’s eyes narrowed. Armin’s eyes grew wide. 

 

“I’m pretty sure he fucking hates me.” Eren snapped, suddenly overcome by all the frustration that had accumulated within him since he had set foot in Levi’s apartment. “I don’t know what I did to him, but all he does is snap at me or avoid me or glare at me. And I don’t even get a bed to sleep on! I get a fucking rock hard couch and no blankets or pillows or anything!”

 

“Do you want us to  _ talk _ to him?” Mikasa asked, her voice low. She was already cracking her knuckles.

 

“What? No, no, we can’t do that. That’d be cool, but we can’t,” said Eren. 

 

Eren could just imagine the amount of shit he’d get from reporters for doing something like that. Imaginary headlines popped into his brain:  _ Disgruntled College Students Assault Levi Ackerman. So Called “Biggest Fan” Turns into Levi’s Biggest Enemy. Fan Attacks Actor After Getting Special Treatment. _

 

Yeah. Not exactly the thing he wanted to be known for. 

 

Still, seeing something other than Levi’s cold, arrogant expression would be pretty fucking cool.

 

“Are you sure you’re not misunderstanding him? Maybe he just needs a little time to get used to you. And maybe he’s trying to be nice?” Even Armin sounded like he wasn’t convinced by his own words.

 

“If this is him being nice, then I don’t want to see him angry,” Eren grumbled. He then shook his head. “Nevermind. Forget him. I’ll have to think about him enough when I get back.”

 

A waiter came to take their order, so their conversation paused as they ordered their pizza and drinks. As soon as the waiter was gone, Eren started up the conversation again, desperate to talk to his friends and push all thoughts of Levi to the very back of his mind.

 

“Hey, how are you and Jean doing?” Eren asked turning to his blond friend. 

 

Armin’s eyes grew wide.

 

“M-me and—” he spluttered, “wh-what do you mean?”

 

Eren frowned, tilting his head slightly.

 

“Your project with Jean. How is it?”

 

“Oh,” Armin said, breathing a sigh of relief. “That. It’s fine, I guess. We’re making good progress, and we should finish it soon as long as there are no more… unwanted distractions.”

 

He said the last part somewhat bitterly. Eren frowned, but decided now probably wasn’t the best time to push the subject.

 

“You guys have a lot of projects in that class, huh?” Eren said instead. Armin relaxed.

 

“Yeah. Luckily, Jean and I decided to take it together because I don’t think I’d want to partner up with anyone else in there. There are way too many of them who never try.”

 

“What project are you guys doing this time around anyway?”

 

Armin’s eyes lit up, and he quickly launched into a speech about how they were studying some sort of famous book of their own choosing and doing some sort of complicated presentation that required a lot of research. Eren had started to zone out a few sentences in, so he just smiled and nodded encouragingly whenever Armin seemed to get particularly excited.

 

Eren leaned back slightly, and Mikasa leaned forward into him, somewhat supporting his weight as she rested her chin on his shoulder and listened to Armin with way more focus than Eren. 

 

His shoulders relaxed and dropped slightly. His mind cleared and his chest felt light. It had only been a short while since he’d last seen them, but being with his friends again was nice. They were never mean to him—forceful maybe, but never mean—and he was never worried about having to walk on eggshells around them.

 

When he was with them, he could ask for what he wanted, and he could say whatever he wanted. 

 

He was so used to being around them every day. He didn’t know how long he would be staying in Levi’s apartment, but he knew that as long as he was there, he wouldn’t see them as often.

 

Eren just knew that he didn’t want to stay with that cold bastard any longer than he had to.

 

~~~

 

Eren opened the door to the apartment as slowly and softly as he could, hoping that if Levi was asleep, Eren wouldn’t be the reason he woke up. He didn’t know if Levi was the kind of person who was extremely grumpy about being woken up, but since it seemed like many other things also made him grumpy, Eren wasn’t going to risk it.

 

Eren hadn’t planned on being out for long. He thought he’d be away from the apartment for maybe an hour at the most. But he had ended up staying quite a few hours later than planned. He’d actually only left because the little pizza place he and his friends were hanging out at had to close. He wondered if Levi was mad that he stayed out for so long. He wondered if Levi cared at all.

 

The apartment was quiet when Eren walked in. The lights were still on though, and the door to Levi’s bedroom was open, so he assumed that the older man was still awake. 

 

Eren walked over to the couch, which, for some reason, had the white blanket that Levi had just bought draped on top of it. Was that Levi’s way of saying Eren could use it? Eren grabbed the blanket and plopped down on the couch, pulling the blanket over himself.

 

The couch was as hard and cold as ever, not that he had expected anything different. Having a blanket was kind of nice though. 

 

Now all he needed was a pillow, and he’d be alright.

 

Eren swung his dangling ankles back and forth, the armrest of the couch ending just past his knees.

 

A longer couch would be cool too. 

 

Eren heard a door open, propping himself up on the other armrest with his elbows. He peered over at the front door, only to notice that it was a completely different door that had swung open. He’d never noticed it before.

 

“Listen Erwin, I’ve already told you how I feel about all this,” said Levi.

 

The man stepped out of the doorway, and  _ holy fuck— _

 

Eren’s breath caught in his throat. 

 

Levi was wet. Shirtless and wet. Shirtless, wet, and probably naked underneath the black towel he had wrapped around his waist. His black hair was messy, sticking up in places and sticking out in sideways clumps in other places. Eren guessed that he had probably just rubbed it with a towel to get it dry and had left it as the unkempt mess it currently was. The ends still were a bit wet, dripping down his neck, and then farther down, down, down… Down his chest, his porcelain white skin, all the way down to his ridiculously defined fucking _ six pack, holy fuck. _

 

Eren tore his gaze away from Levi’s godlike form, knowing his focus would linger on inappropriate places for too long, and he really didn’t want Levi to notice that just the sight of him like that was sending Eren’s brain into a frenzy.

 

Sure, Eren had seen Levi shirtless before(Rivaille was one of those characters who lost his shirt  _ a lot _ , just to make sure the show could keep the audience that didn’t care a lot about the plot but cared a lot about the  _ hot) _ but that was always through a screen. He had never seen him like that up close and in person. And holy  _ fuck _ , a TV screen did no justice to the absolute masterpiece that was Levi’s upper body. 

 

He glanced up at Levi, who was still walking by and still on the phone. He didn’t seem like he had noticed Eren practically drooling over him; if he did, he didn’t seem to care.

 

“I disagree,” Levi said into his phone, frowning and running his fingers through his damp locks. He paused. “You don’t think it’s a big deal? You already know my history; Fuck, I didn’t think you were this much of a sadistic little shit, Eyebrows.”

 

Eren watched Levi reach his bedroom and pause in the doorway. The man looked back at Eren over his shoulder, a deep scowl etched onto his face, small droplets of water barely clinging to the ends of his dark strands of hair.

 

“I’ve told you plenty of times,” Levi said, moving his phone closer to his mouth. “I’ve got better things to do with my time than babysitting.”

 

Oh.

 

Levi turned away from Eren and went into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him with enough force to make Eren flinch.

 

Eren plucked at the loose fibers of the fuzzy white blanket in his lap—the blanket that he thought Levi had gotten for him. 

 

He frowned.

 

He didn’t understand Levi at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, and thanks for reading!
> 
> I was originally planning for this chapter to be in Levi’s point of view, but then I decided naaaahhh I just want him to seem like a jerk for just a little while longer ;3 I was also planning on giving Levi like, an 8-pack cause I’m pretty sure that’s what he has in the canonverse(or was that Mikasa?) But I figured he shouldn’t be humanity’s-strongest-soldier buff when he’s just an actor lol.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and I promise Levi and Eren won’t seem like they hate each other forever... They’ll like each other eventually... Just not...soon...hehe...
> 
> Oh, and as always, let me know if there are any typos or things that shouldn’t be in the chapter because I don’t really edit these things(and when I do, I still miss a lot of stuff :p)


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